I was soaked to the skin paddling down the Truckee River in
a rubber raft with six other people. It felt a lot like a wild and very wet
ride at Disneyland – until we hit a rock. We all lurched suddenly and I
thought for sure we would overturn, but quick maneuvers by my fellow boaters
helped keep us above water.

After nearly winding up in the drink, I looked straight
ahead searching for signs of civilization. Then I saw it – the Harrah's
Hotel tower in downtown Reno.

My rough water near-disaster was part of a charity raft race
during the annual Reno River Festival. It is an image that Reno tourism
promoters want you to think of instead of the stereotype of Reno as a place
where chain-smoking retirees go to squander their Social Security checks.

And when it comes to the gay scene in Reno, the homophobic
macho stereotype doesn't match reality either, at least not now.

"Four years ago you wouldn't be able to hold your
partner's hand in public without someone giving you a lot of crap about
it," said Jenny Oxier, a lesbian who co-owns the hair salon, A Salon 7, a
place that has become Reno's unofficial gay drop-in center. "But now it
seems like people are beginning to not care or the shock value is gone."

And with more than a half-dozen gay bars and nightclubs,
there's more than enough to keep anyone entertained at night following a day
out enjoying one of the Reno area's many adventures. Unlike its big city
western neighbor, San Francisco, and its younger southern upstart sister, Las
Vegas, the bar scene in Reno is much more male and female mixed and there is
much more of a sense of connectedness than you will find in a big city.

Reno has a population of about 200,000, with about 400,000
people if you include the surrounding Truckee Meadows metropolitan area. The
small town feel of "The Biggest Little City in the World" as the
famous Reno arch proclaims, is reflected in the cohesiveness of the city's gay
community.

"Everyone in the gay community in Reno is
connected," affirmed Molly Demers, a gay Reno resident and Las Vegas
transplant.

Reno was first put on the map by the gold and silver mining
industry in the mid-1800s. With the legal brothels, gambling, and quickie
divorces, Reno quickly earned the nickname "Sin City," long before
Las Vegas took that title away a century later.

The sights

Reno's tourist board has adopted the slogan "America's
Adventure Place" to highlight what sets the city apart from its younger
but much bigger southern sister, Las Vegas. And the tourism boosters actively
promote blending of the names Reno-Tahoe to draw attention to the region's
biggest attraction, Lake Tahoe, just a 45-minute drive away.

Sure, Reno is a place to gamble, but the city's strongest
suit is that it is able to offer all things to all people who prefer the
outdoors. In the winter, skiing can be found on Mount Rose, just a half-hour
drive from downtown. The Reno area also boasts about 30 golf courses and the
Black Rock Desert is about two hours from downtown. By the way, the desert is
home to one of the Reno area's biggest draws, Burning Man. The weeklong
festival is held during the last week of August. Lots of burners spend a day or
two in Reno on the way to or from Burning Man.

You don't have to go far and you don't even have to leave
downtown to experience an outdoor adventure. In 2004, the city opened a $1.5
million whitewater park at Wingfield Park, an island in the middle of the
Truckee River in the heart of downtown. Named the Truckee River Whitewater
Park, it is one of the crown jewels of the city's new Truckee River Arts
District.

Fifteen years ago, an ugly concrete wall surrounded the area
around the river and was a place avoided by locals and tourists alike. The
opposite is true now. The area around the river has been transformed into a
beautiful promenade complete with fountains and sculptures. More and more
people are moving back to downtown and undoubtedly higher gas prices will only
help fuel that renaissance.

A big part of the arts district's revitalization is the art
scene that is being nurtured by the city. Sculptures and murals dot the
district. They even found a way to make a sculpture out of a bike rack by
making the rack look like a giant fish. You lock your bike on the fish s bones.
The arts have a whole month in Reno. That month is now –
July – and "Artown" celebrates with a series of events to
highlight what the district has to offer.

No visit to the art district would be complete without a
visit to La Bussola. It is a combination art gallery and quirky gift shop where
you can find everything from its best seller, a cake cutter in the shape of a
high heel shoe, to retro furniture. It's owned by Merideth Tanzer, a
transplanted San Franciscan. Tanzer is a lesbian and her gay sensibilities start
as soon as you walk in with the rainbow flag proudly displayed at the door. The
shop also has one of the best views of the river, just overlooking Whitewater
Park.

But art in Reno is not limited to the arts district. The
Nevada Museum of Art is just south of downtown at 160 West Liberty Street. It
moved into a beautiful new building in 2003. The museum was founded in 1931 and
is the oldest cultural institution in Nevada. Despite its age, its collection
of modern and contemporary art would rival any big city museum. Its permanent
collection spans from the 19th century to the present day. The rooftop will
give you a great view of the mountains surrounding Reno and the museum often
showcases large pieces of sculpture there.

Reno's 12th annual gay pride festival will take place
Saturday, August 16, in the center of the Riverwalk District in Wingfield Park.
The Pride Parade gets under way at 11 a.m. in front of the Sands Regency at
Fourth and Arlington streets and ends up at Wingfield Park. The following Saturday,
August 23, the third annual Reno AIDS Walk steps off from another great Reno
river park, Idlewild.

By the way, for the latest on all things gay in Reno, be
sure to pick up a copy of the area's excellent monthly gay magazine, RenoOut
, or log onto www.renooutmag.com.
And if you are in town on a Sunday night, beginning August 17, you can check
out the magazine's radio show on KJFK, AM 1230, from 7 to 8 p.m.

Reno's river centerpiece, like the city itself, is a bit
unusual. Unlike most rivers, the Truckee is landlocked. It never gets to the
ocean or bay but it flows from one lake to another. While everyone has heard of
the starting point for the river, Lake Tahoe, few have heard of or know much
about Pyramid Lake, where all that water from the Truckee River ends up.

Pyramid Lake is about a half-hour drive from Reno. The lake
covers more area than Lake Tahoe but Lake Tahoe holds more water because it is
much deeper. Although they share the same river, the lakes couldn

Kayakers on Whitewater Park in Reno, with Wingfield Park
in the background. Photo: Ed Walsh

't be more
different. Lake Tahoe is beautiful and rustic but also very developed,
touristy, and often crowded. Pyramid Lake is on an Indian reservation in the
middle of a desert. You'll find no casinos there and very little development.
The lake is especially popular for fishing. It gets its name from a
pyramid-shaped rock in the middle of the lake. The Stone Mother rock formation
is just in front of Pyramid Rock. It gets its name from its resemblance to an
Indian mother sitting next to a basket. According to Indian lore, the lake was
created with her tears for her lost children.

Nightlife

The Five Star Saloon in the downtown arts district at 132
West Street is open 24 hours and is a longtime Reno gay favorite. The bar never
charges a cover and features pool and entertainment. It is gay and lesbian
mixed. During the third Saturday afternoon each month, the Five Star is one of
the participating merchants in the Wine Walk. For a $20 fee you can stroll
around the Truckee sampling wines at one of more than 20 participating
businesses.

The Patio bar at 600 West Fifth Street features pool, darts,
karaoke, and it is aptly named since it has a deck and backyard. It is Reno's
most sports-oriented gay bar. The Patio is also gay and lesbian mixed.

Reflections at 3001 West 4th Street is west of downtown. The
club is popular with women and features entertainment, dancing, and pool. It
has a beautiful outdoor patio for those warm summer nights.

The Ten99 Club, appropriately located at 1099 South Virginia
Street, is best known for its drag shows. The club is home to the "
Official Imperial Palace to the Silver Dollar Court of
Reno."

Tronix at 303 Kietzke Lane
is east of downtown a few blocks from Highway 395. It is a popular video dance
club.

Neutron is on the same block as Tronix at 340 Kietzke Lane.
It includes dancing with a DJ on weekends, pool, and a patio.

Carl's is a Levi/leather/cowboy men's bar at 3310 South
Virginia between the Atlantis and Peppermill casinos. It includes a patio,
large dance floor, and barbecues in the summer.

Reno has one bathhouse, Steve's, at 1030 West Second Street.
It is in an area southwest of downtown.

Dining

There's much more to eating out in Reno than cheap casino
buffets. If you are into fine dining, there are plenty of options.

The upscale French restaurant, Beaujolais Bistro, is next
door to the Five Star Saloon at 130 West Street. A four-course prix fixe dinner
special costs $59. I dined there recently and found the food excellent but the
service was very slow.

The Wild River Grille at 17 South Virginia Street on the
RiverWalk is a great example of the Truckee River's renaissance. The modern
restaurant and bar features a patio overlooking the river. The restaurant is
famous for its crab cakes, coconut shrimp, and its salmon and veggie wraps. A
dinner entree will run you about $20.

If you want to eat in style, you would be hard-pressed to do
better than the MonteVigna Wine Room in the Atlantis Resort Casino at 3800
South Virginia Street. The Italian
restaurant is a wine lover's delight with a 4,000-bottle wine cellar. Entrees
run $20-$30.

The Sezmu Restaurant at 670 Mount Rose Street is one of the
newest fine dining restaurants in Reno. It is southwest of Reno's downtown.
Reservations are a good idea. The
restaurant only has space for 30 diners, plus seven at the bar. The restaurant
specializes in new American fare and it supports ranchers and farmers who
practice ecologically sound and organic agriculture. An entree averages around
$25.

Accommodations

Reno boasts a wealth of gay-friendly hotels. The San
Francisco-based gay marketing firm, Community Marketing, gives its gay-friendly
"TAG" approval to six hotels, the Grand Sierra Resort, Circus Circus,
Harrah's, the Peppermill, the Sands Regency, and the Silver Legacy.

I stayed at the newly remodeled Grand Sierra Resort during
my most recent trip. With nearly 2,000 rooms, it is Reno's biggest hotel and is
a good example of the trend among most of the city's casino hotels toward the
upscale. Rates at the Grand Sierra start around $50 on the weekdays. Rates at
the more upscale wing, the Summit, start around $80. You will pay on average of
30 percent to 50 percent more if you stay over on the weekend or at a time when
a lot of conventions are in town. The biggest drawback to the Grand Sierra is
that it's a couple of miles from downtown but it's a virtual city unto itself,
complete with nightclubs (non-gay), restaurants, a theater with what they claim
is the biggest stage in the world, and a bowling alley. When this hotel opened
in 1978 as the MGM, it was the biggest hotel in the world.

The Sands Regency in downtown Reno is a great budget option.
Weekday rooms start around $35. It's right at the starting point of the city's
Pride Parade in downtown Reno.

Like the Grand Sierra, the Peppermill is also a virtual city
unto itself. You can get a room there for as little as $59 but expect to pay
twice that for a room at its updated and upscale Tuscany Tower. Of course, you
could pay a lot more if you stay during a busy time when a lot of conventions
are in town. Like the Grand Sierra, the Peppermill is a couple of miles from
downtown. If you are a Donna Summer fan, the disco diva will be performing at
the Peppermill on Friday, August 15, the night before Reno's Pride Parade and
festival.

Harrah's Reno is conveniently located in the heart of
downtown, so there will always be something to do just steps away. You can stay
there for as little as $60 a night or $90 a night in its newly remodeled West
Tower.

Circus Circus is also in the middle of downtown. You can
stay there for as little as $59. If you have kids, Circus Circus is the place
to be. Circus shows are free in its "Midway of Fun." The midway is
packed with carnival and arcade games to keep the kids occupied in between
shows.

The Silver Legacy is also downtown and is one of the most
beautiful buildings in Reno. The hotel and casino is the building that you see
with a big dome in skyline shots of downtown. The hotel has been running summer
specials on its Web site for weekday rooms for as little as $59, a great
bargain considering the quality and location of this hotel.